Witness tampering charged in Milton knife fight

MILTON - A Sanbornville, N.H., man has been charged with witness tampering in connection with a stabbing incident at a downtown Milton residence earlier this month.

Craig Czepyha, 53, of 243 Forest St., is accused of telling victims in the case to make false written statements to Milton Police.

On Feb. 20 police were called for a dispute at 559 White Mountain Hwy. where they found two victims injured trying to break up a knife fight.

Roman Czepyha

As a result of that incident Roman Czepyha, 28, of 559 White Mountain Hwy., was charged with second-degree assault and is being held on $2,500 cash bail pending a probable cause hearing later today.

One of the two people trying to stop the fight, a male, was cut on the forearm, while a female received bumps and bruises.

Police say the incident occurred when Roman Czepyha allegedly got into an altercation with housemate Matthew Shattuck, 19, who was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol and disorderly conduct.

According to Milton Police, as the pair were arguing Czepyha grabbed a large kitchen knife, whereupon Shattuck drew a small folding knife from his pocket.

Both victims who tried to break up the altercation were transported to and later released from FrisRoman Czepyhabie Memorial Hospital.

Milton Police Chief Richard Krauss said that officers have been called to the address several times in the recent past for issues of domestic incidents, fights and arrest warrants.

Roman Czepyha was charged with first-degree assault two years ago in a stabbing incident, but the charge was dismissed at a probable cause hearing, something extremely rare, according to defense attorney Stuart Dedopoulos of Durham.

Milton Police today were not immediately available to describe Craig Czepyha’s relationship to Roman Czepyha.

Craig Czepyha was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail and is set to be arraigned at the Rochester District Court next month.